1998 SMU Mustangs football team

{{CFB schedule

| rankyear = 1998

| poll = AP

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 5

| time = 7:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| away = y

| opponent = Rice

| site_stadium = Rice Stadium

| site_cityst = Houston, TX

| gamename = rivalry

| tv =

| score = 17–23

| overtime = OT

| attend = 42,674

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 12

| time = 7:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| nonconf = y

| opponent = Tulane

| site_stadium = Cotton Bowl

| site_cityst = Dallas, TX

| tv =

| score = 21–31

| attend = 12,316

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 19

| time = 6:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| nonconf = y

| away = y

| opponent = Arkansas

| site_stadium = War Memorial Stadium

| site_cityst = Little Rock, AR

| tv =

| score = 17–44

| attend = 55,544

| source = {{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-arkansas-romps-past-smu/157274840/|work=The Sun|title=Arkansas romps past SMU|date=September 20, 1998|accessdate=October 16, 2024|via=Newspapers.com}}

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 26

| time = 2:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| nonconf = y

| opponent = Ole Miss

| site_stadium = Cotton Bowl

| site_cityst = Dallas, TX

| tv =

| score = 41–48

| overtime = OT

| attend = 22,281

| source = {{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/longview-news-journal-smu-falls-to-missi/152175480/|work=Longview News-Journal|title=SMU falls to Mississippi comeback, 48–41 in OT|date=September 27, 1998|accessdate=July 28, 2024|via=Newspapers.com}}

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 3

| time = 11:00 p.m.

| w/l = v

| away = y

| opponent = Hawaii

| site_stadium = Aloha Stadium

| site_cityst = Halawa, HI

| tv =

| score = 28–0

| attend = 25,912

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 10

| time = 2:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| away = y

| opponent = Wyoming

| site_stadium = War Memorial Stadium

| site_cityst = Laramie, WY

| tv =

| score = 7–12

| attend = 15,504

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 17

| time = 2:00 p.m.

| w/l = v

| opponent = TCU

| site_stadium = Cotton Bowl

| site_cityst = Dallas, TX

| gamename = rivalry

| tv =

| score = 10–6

| attend = 26,360

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 24

| time = 2:00 p.m.

| w/l = v

| opponent = UNLV

| site_stadium = Cotton Bowl

| site_cityst = Dallas, TX

| tv =

| score = 10–7

| attend = 16,073

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 31

| time = 1:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| away = y

| opponent = Air Force

| site_stadium = Falcon Stadium

| site_cityst = Air Force Academy, CO

| tv =

| score = 7–31

| attend = 30,053

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 7

| time = 2:00 p.m.

| w/l = v

| opponent = Tulsa

| site_stadium = Cotton Bowl

| site_cityst = Dallas, TX

| tv =

| score = 33–3

| attend = 11,143

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 14

| time = 2:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| homecoming = y

| opponent = Colorado State

| site_stadium = Cotton Bowl

| site_cityst = Dallas, TX

| tv =

| score = 10–32

| attend = 21,133

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 21

| time = 11:00 a.m.

| w/l = w

| nonconf = y

| away = y

| opponent = Navy

| site_stadium = Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

| site_cityst = Annapolis, MD

| tv = KLDT

| score = 24–11

| attend = 27,487

}}

}}

{{American football roster/Header

| year = 1998

| team = SMU Mustangs

| teamcolors = f

| offensive_players =

{{American football roster/Player|num=70|class=Sr|first=Austin|last=Adami|pos=C}}

{{American football roster/Player|num=21|class=Sr|first=Kelsey|last=Adams|pos=RB}}

{{American football roster/Player|num=15|class=So|first=Josh|last=McCown|pos=QB|link=y}}

{{American football roster/Player|num=46|class=Jr|first=Jeff|last=Pennington|pos=RB}}

| defensive_players=

| special_teams_players=

}}

{{American football roster/Footer

| head_coach = *Mike Cavan

| asst_coach =

| accessdate= 2015-12-20

}}

Two members of the 1998 SMU squad were selected in the 1999 NFL draft. Defensive back Donald Mitchell was selected in the fourth round and 117th overall by the Tennessee Titans. Defensive back Coby Rhinehart was selected in the sixth round and 190th overall by the Arizona Cardinals.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/schools/smu/drafted.htm|title = SMU Drafted Players/Alumni| website=Pro-Football-Reference.com }}

Twelve years after the NCAA "death penalty" that caused the SMU football program to shut down for two years, SMU encountered another scandal. SMU notified the NCAA of possible recruiting violations in early August 1999 and subsequently suspended defensive line coach Steve Malin.{{cite web|author=Whitmire, Keith|title= SMU suspends assistant|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sports_day/football/college/college/0807colfbsmulede.htm|work=Dallas Morning News|date=August 7, 1999|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20011119122208/http://www.dallasnews.com/sports_day/football/college/college/0807colfbsmulede.htm|archivedate=November 19, 2001|accessdate=May 29, 2014}} On November 7, 1999, The Dallas Morning News reported that former SMU football player Corlin Donaldson alleged that Malin paid another person $100 to take Donaldson's ACT exam in 1998 so that Donaldson would be eligible to attend SMU. Although Donaldson described this account to NCAA investigators, Donaldson recanted this story under pressure from Malin to save Malin's job.{{cite web|author=Valadie, Josie|title= Ex-SMU player says coach urged him to cheat on test |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sports_day/football/college/college/1107colfbsmulede.htm|work=Dallas Morning News|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020106003953/http://www.dallasnews.com/sports_day/football/college/college/1107colfbsmulede.htm|archivedate=January 6, 2002|accessdate=May 29, 2014}} Following an internal investigation, SMU fired Malin on December 8, 1999; Malin had been suspended that year since August 3 without a replacement at his position. Additionally, SMU removed one assistant coach from recruiting roles for the 2000 season, reduced a total of 8 scholarships for the 2000 and 2001 seasons, and reduced a total of 16 official campus visits for high school recruits for those seasons as well. SMU also submitted a report to the NCAA.{{cite web|url=http://smu.edu/newsinfo/releases/99149b.html|title=SMU dismisses coach, imposes sanctions after independent investigation of rules violations|publisher=Southern Methodist University|accessdate=May 29, 2014|date=December 8, 1999|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531090726/http://smu.edu/newsinfo/releases/99149b.html|archivedate=May 31, 2014}}

On December 13, 2000, the NCAA placed SMU on two years' probation and vacated ten games from SMU's 1998 season in which Donaldson played, which reduced SMU's record to 1–1 for 1998.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/southern-methodist/1998.html|title = 1998 SMU Mustangs Stats}}{{cite web|url=https://web1.ncaa.org/LSDBi/exec/miSearch?miSearchSubmit=publicReport&key=509&publicTerms=THIS%20PHRASE%20WILL%20NOT%20BE%20REPEATED|title=Southern Methodist University Public Infractions Report|date=December 13, 2000|publisher=NCAA|accessdate=May 29, 2014}} SMU's 2005 media guide indicates that the NCAA vacated the first ten games of the 1998 season.{{cite web|title=Records and Results|url=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/smu/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/HistoricalInformation.pdf|work=SMU Football 2005 Media Guide|accessdate=May 29, 2014|page=147|archive-date=November 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107042002/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/smu/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/HistoricalInformation.pdf|url-status=dead}} The NCAA reported that its infractions committee "concluded that the assistant football coach [Malin] initially suggested that the prospective student-athlete [Donaldson] should participate in academic fraud, actively assisted in the initial fraudulent ACT, had actual knowledge of the fraud in the second ACT and finally, had reason to know that the prospect, after enrolling at the university and becoming a student-athlete, was ineligible to compete by reason of the academic fraud." Additionally, the NCAA also discovered rules violations regarding recruiting and tryouts dating back to 1995. The NCAA also extended SMU's self-imposed restrictions on coaches' off-campus recruiting to the 2001 season and limited official visits for high school recruits to 38 for the 2001–02 school year.{{cite web|last=Cash|first=Rana|title=NCAA slaps SMU with additional sanctions|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sports_day/colleges/football/237651_14smu.html|work=Dallas Morning News|accessdate=May 30, 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20010124101500/http://www.dallasnews.com/sports_day/colleges/football/237651_14smu.html|archivedate=January 24, 2001|date=December 14, 2000}} Malin also was assessed a seven-year show-cause penalty.

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/southern-methodist/1998.html 1998 SMU stats] at Sports-Reference.com

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